i met the most wonderful man at an art opening this friday last year. and since then, i’ve been experiencing this moment over and over and over again. from a very quirky movie about a very quirky lady, this quote says it all.
words and anchors – tattoo design
drawing and designing tattoos for people near and far has been such a cool and strange and unexpected part of my career. i love love getting to know a little bit (or a lotta bit) about people that i otherwise wouldn’t have met had it not been for the great reach of the internet. even more, however, i love being able to create something meaningful for someone i’ve had the great pleasure of spending some person-to-person time with. it might be faux pas to do work for friends and family, but in my case, having the ability to work with care on something as intimate as a tattoo design has only ever been a joy. it allows me another opening into this person’s life – a perspective i might not have been afforded the opportunity to view. if i could, i’d draw all over my friends and family members’ arms/legs/backs/necks/etc!
this one is for a special and incredible bostonian – marisa, i can’t wait to see how it turns out!
autumn! autumn!!!
it’s my oh-so-favorite-favorite-favorite time of year, and chicago’s delivering some amazingly gorgeous weather for the occasion. and while it’s not quite so picturesque as a new england autumn, the moments of red and amber colored trees, crinkling leaves underfoot, pumpkin pastries and scarf-clad bike rides have filled me with such elation, that all the work i’ve been scoring has made this season all the sweeter. stay on the lookout for some exciting new editorial work involving an upcoming YA book series, a few new tattoo designs, magazine back cover lettering, and these brand new thank you cards, now available in the shop!
although there are still challenges, and moments of unsettledness, and a future that sometimes seems impossibly far away, the optimistic side always wins out. and then the work gets better, and more abundant. thank you for following along!
flip the page – new editorial work
the best part about being a freelancer/small business owner of a creative studio is flexibility in the kind of work i can take on. you’d be surprised, and then actually not surprised at all, at how many venues there can be for hand-lettered text. With tattoo design and wedding envelopes under my belt, not to mention a few wall design branding gigs and some fine art commissions, it’s been incredibly fun and exciting to dream up and wonder at where the next piece of work will come from.
imagine how thrilled i was, then, to receive a call from lourdes paredes, the publisher of a brand spanking new chicago-based yoga magazine. she’d seen my work on the michigan ave lululemon chalkboards, and thought i’d be a good fit for some editorial artwork in the premier issue of illumine. of course of course! not only have i taken her class at exhale spa, but sitting down and chatting with her about the yoga community, bringing people together from all over the city, cross-promoting different businesses, i was instantly inspired and wanted to be a part of something that seemed to speak to a lot of my own personal beliefs. add to that her general inquisitive and authentic demeanor, and the connection was unmistakeable.
for the premier issue, i was asked to design the inside back cover, as a sort of ‘inspiration page’. readers can tear it out, put it on their walls, share it with other people, etc. after having painted a chalkboard wall in my shared studio space at both sides gallery, i knew it needed to be put to good use for this venue. i was also asked if i might take a stab at writing some sanskrit for one of the internal articles. i won’t lie, i was a bit nervous about putting my hand to work on such an ancient and intricate language. it took a lot of practice, and a different approach to the written word as more symbol-focused, rather than letter, or meaning-focused, but after a short while, i got the hang of it. the lovely illumine intern, ashley, even came by the gallery to photograph the work and do a mini interview with me about jilly ink, and my apparent obsession with handwriting.
i’m currently working on the next issue, set to launch this winter, and i’m even more excited for the design in this one. whether or not you’re currently a chicagoan, i’d greatly recommend subscribing to this gorgeous magazine. whether you’re a devout yogi, or someone who’s active in other ways, it’s an incredible resource for living a more fulfilled life and taking advantage of some of the yogic principles in less obvious ways. seriously, read it. or at least go over to illuminechicago.com and scope it out first. (and check out my very own page!)
here’s to more, and different, and crazy, and cool, and interesting work ahead!
new! art work available on etsy
i’ve been receiving a lot of lovely feedback on the newest september show up at both sides gallery in pilsen, chicago. and an overwhelming amount of questions on how to purchase the work, if it’s for sale, where can it be shipped to, etc etc etc.
so! with great aplomb and excitement, i’m proud to announce that all the framed typographical illustrations currently on view at the gallery are also available for purchase through the jilly ink etsy shop. browse away, but remember- these are one-of-a-kind pieces of work, so be quick to the draw if you want one for yourself!
have a lovely and gorgeous and wonderful september autumn day!
the september issue
it may not involve 900 pages of glossy advertisements, and annie leibovitz-esque couture photographs of kiera knightly or cate blanchett, but the september issue (read: show) of artwork at both sides gallery in pilsen, chicago is, in my opinion, pretty spectacular. working in the same space as artist meg frazier has been nothing short of a dream. there are days when we both get nothing done, and spend the day talking about the situation of the artist, how to monitor our finances, what we’d like to be when we grow up, how we pretty much are what we’d like to be when we grow up… and then there are days when the music’s playing (or not, if we forgot to turn it on, and we’re in the zone) and she’s painting and i’m drawing and we’re laying down finished pieces like they’re cookies coming out of the oven. and so, after all that baking.. err, making.. here’s what we recently framed and put up on the walls of both sides gallery, just in time for the september edition of the chicago arts district’s second fridays art walk.
{‘tighter’ | ’10”x12” | $150 w frame }
{‘stronger’ | 8”x10” | $100 w frame }
{‘softer’ | 18.5”x8” | $150 w frame }
{‘smaller’ | 3.5”x4.5” | $25 w frame}
{‘sharper’ | 5”x 6.25” | $50 w frame}
{‘clearer’ | 5.5”x16.5” | $125 w frame}
{‘deeper’ | 19.5”x17” | $200 w frame}
{‘longer’ | 10.5”x16” | $150 w frame}
these lovely pieces are on display at both sides gallery – 1840 s halsted st. chicago, il 60608 – and will also be available for purchase in my shop next week, so send me an inquiry at jilly.ink@gmail.com if you want a stab at them first!
artist in residence like whoa
the month has come! september! both sides gallery! my work, supplies, kitchen dishes and pens and favorite coffee mug – we’re all moved in and ready and raring to get started on the next 6-9 months of intensive art making, calligraphy business-building, networking, life-owning, inspiration-seeking, and general craziness that’s surely to come. i can’t wait to share it all with you as it unfolds. in the meantime, take a look at some of the words i’ve been writing and places i’ve been visiting over the last two weeks!
{skull prints: $15 in the etsy shop}
{sanskrit being photographed for the new illumine chicago magazine}
{clockwise from top left: event cards for zapwater communications, new chalkboard mural at both sides gallery, skull prints: $15 in the etsy shop}
{visiting hammerpress in kansas city}
{octopus doodling}
a whole bunch of bones
{‘bigger is better’ 11×14 original illustraion – $175 w/frame}
Phew! August is already more than halfway over, and it seems crazy to me that so much has happened in the first 19 days of this summery month. Renovating and revamping a gallery space in Pilsen, frantically making work for the Chicago Arts District 2nd Fridays Art Walk, hanging the show, frantically making more work for the Pilsen Unisono Festival, designing a mini jilly ink booth, teaching painting classes, planning for the next three months at the gallery, putting together some exciting editorial work for magazines, commercial work for clients, and plugging away at the upcoming designs from the jilly ink wedding stationery line – this has been one crazy month, to say the least.
{‘so tight’ 8×10 original illustration – $120 w/frame SOLD}
{‘long and hard’ 8×10 original illustration – $120 w/frame SOLD}
{‘nice cheeks’ 8×10 original illustration – $120 w/frame}
The thing is, though, I’m realizing I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ok, maybe with a little less pressure, but honestly, the deadlines, the excitement, the collaboration, planning, productive daydreaming, painting – living fully in everything I’m passionate about is so incredibly exhilarating. I’m so pleased to share with you the work that made it into the gallery for the month of August.
{‘rockin’ curves’ 11×14 original illustration – $175 w/frame}
And! Look for some pretty/strange/pretty strange skull prints to be popping up in the jilly ink Etsy shop this week as well!
{skulls & script 11×14 prints – $15 each – coming soon to the jilly ink shop}
(* if you’re interested in purchasing any of the original art work from the 2nd Fridays Art Show, please feel free to email me at jilly.ink@gmail.com or call Both Sides Gallery at 419-543-2248)
terrariums terrariums!
what a lovely night it was, last week, at the gorgeous both sides space, making little terrariums (although, at the time, it was still a bit in shambles before we’d hung the second fridays art show).
i spent the morning and afternoon at sprout home, picking through their newest shipment of tiny, adorable succulents and cacti, choosing soil, lava rocks, charcoal, sand and rocks. i must say, they are incredibly wonderful, helpful people, and the store itself is lovely and full of so many plants that i wanted desperately to adopt as my own.
from there i traveled to blumgarten, a new florist shop that just opened up on halsted and 18th, across from the gallery, in the chicago arts district. they have such a wide array of glassware; it was such fun picking out little vessels for the succulents. with delicious veggie and port pasties from bridgeport pasty, and handmade plant-inspired jilly ink cards, the tables looked inviting and well laid out.
the workshop was a success, and culminated in the cutest little terrariums that everyone took with them at the end of the night. special thanks to alexis buryk of lexi b photography for taking these perfectly lit photos.
i loved sharing this newfound love, and look forward to holding the next one in september! stay tuned, and if you’re in the chicago area, i’d love to have you at the next workshop!
nine months and a new show
nine months ago, i was invited to show work at the gorgeous both sides gallery space in pilsen, chicago. it was a magical experience, full of meeting new people (one of which just so happens to be pouring me a cup of coffee right now), putting my art work out there, gathering feedback, and becoming exposed to one of the most vibrant art communities in this fair city.
tonight, nine months (to the day, and date – how about that?) later, i’ll be showing another series. you may remember when i drew a few bones back in the fall.. well, i’ve decided to expand on that idea and move a little deeper..ehem.. into the body, and context. the theme of this month’s show is ‘inner beauty’, so my take on that was to use suggestive phrases typically geared towards certain parts of the female and male bodies, and juxtapose them alongside illustrations of bones about which they’d be construed as positive attributes. i’ll have much more photos to post next week about the opening tonight (i might have a few pieces that need finishing this afternoon… ever the procrastinating artist), but here’s a sneak preview of two of the pieces i’ll be framing and hanging on the walls.
if you happen to find yourself in chicago tonight, stop by both sides gallery from 6-10pm, on the corner of 19th and halsted. or stop by anytime this month to take a gander at the show!
jilly ink 